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This article explores the decline of the Texas shrimping industry and the impact of policy and regulation on the livelihoods of shrimpers. The researchers conducted interviews with shrimping communities and used mixed methods research to gain a deeper understanding of the issue. The interviews revealed that trust and communication are crucial in building relationships with natural resource users. The article emphasizes the importance of collaboration between shrimpers, Sea Grant agents, and researchers in adapting to regulations and finding solutions to challenges. The findings highlight the need for clear communication and participatory science and management programs to address the concerns of shrimpers and foster a sense of ownership and understanding. [Extracted from the article]

The United States' Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the world's foremost law for protecting species at risk of extinction; however, species must first be listed as threatened or endangered before receiving protection under the Act. We used an information theoretic approach to assess whether listing budget, policy phase (which was correlated with presidential administration), or both factors were associated with the number of species listed annually between 1983 and 2014. Annual listing rates were positively affected by larger listing budgets; policy phase also had a significant impact on annual listing rates after accounting for the effects of budget. However, the listing process for any one species spans multiple years, thus we also evaluated how taxonomic affiliation, the initiating organization, and lawsuits affected the amount of time 1338 listed species spent in review between 1973 and 2014. Species waited a median of 12.1 years to receive protection, with plants and invertebrates experiencing longer wait times than vertebrates. These process times exceed ESA deadlines, which are two years when initiated from a third party; this may perpetuate population declines and hinder recovery efforts. We observed that at the time of a lawsuit filling for either a proposed or final rule, species had waited, respectively, 4.19 and 0.70 years longer than species for which no lawsuits were filed, indicating lawsuits targeted species that experienced longer delays. We discuss how changes in ESA implementation over time interacted to produce high variability and often long wait times in the listing process. Our results indicated a positive role for both citizen petitions and budget increases to advance the listing process, thus hastening biodiversity protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the reported efforts to balance the challenges of private property interests, state management authority in Texas water planning, and the legal aspects of endangered species as of 2014, focusing on the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Texas' handling of drought conditions in the state. The ESA's prohibition against the taking of an endangered species is mentioned. It states that Texas adopted the English common law rule of capture for percolating groundwater in 1904.

ABSTRACT The Leon River drainage, located in the Brazos River basin, has not been extensively surveyed for freshwater mussels (Family Unionidae). This is problematic given that three state-threatened species, Quadrula houstonensis, Quadrula mitchelli, and Truncilla macrodon, have historically occurred in this drainage and two are now candidates for protection under the US Endangered Species Act., Mussels were sampled qualitatively at 44 sites in the summer and fall of 2011 to determine whether these species were still extant in the Leon River. The distributions and abundances of species at present considered common were also examined. Shell length data were assessed to determine the overall viability of the mussel fauna within the Leon River drainage., In total, 2081 live mussels were collected representing 12 species, including the federal candidate species Quadrula houstonensis, but Lampsilis hydiana, Quadrula mitchelli and Truncilla macrodon were not collected. Overall mussel abundance and species richness was low and community composition was highly fragmented with riverine species largely occurring in the middle portion of the Leon River. There was evidence that population recruitment is occurring, but only for a few species., River impoundment, inadequate instream flows, and agricultural practices are probable causes of the changes in mussel species composition. Further studies are needed to evaluate the impacts of reservoir releases on mussel persistence within this basin and in areas where droughts and low stream flow are commonplace. More information is needed on how agricultural practices affect mussel communities; the information that is currently available does little in the way of identifying factors that can be managed at site or reach scales. Studies that address these knowledge gaps will help resource managers to design more effective strategies to protect mussel populations within and outside this basin., Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceived threat from traditional command-and-control implementation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act has resulted in the underprovision of endangered species habitat on private lands. Voluntary incentive programs aid recovery by reducing landowner costs and increasing benefits; however, program efficacy is directly related to participation. I used the reasoned action framework to examine landowner attitudes and beliefs about participating. Using data from a mail survey of Texas landowners, I employed two seldom-used methods (structure coefficients and commonality analysis) to enhance explanation from a regression of attitudes on behavioral beliefs. Two of eight measured beliefs (beneficial outcomes for an individual's land and for the target species) accounted for the majority of the variation in attitude. Landowner concerns about future regulations and technical assistance contributed least to attitude. Results provide program administrators with necessary information to create targeted messages to increase participation and thus enhance program efficacy. The use of structure coefficients and commonality analysis highlighted relationships with the greatest explanatory power, as well as those that would have been otherwise missed or marginalized. I recommend these methods be employed in all reasoned-action studies analyzed using multiple regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]